Mr Piano Man
by Caty91
Summary: The IOA are known to do whatever they please and they decide to send a group of diplomats to Atlantis which doesn't make the senior members of the Atlantis Expedition happy. Lorne Whump later in the story.
1. Mr Piano Man

**Title:**** Mr. Piano Man**

**Author:**** Caty91**

**STARGATE: ATLATIS**

**Rating:**** T for content and language**

**Spoilers:**** Echo and the Return part 1 and 2.**

**Genre:**** Friendship/Romance**

**Setting/Season: **_**Season 3**_

**Summary:****When visiting his sister while being on Earth, he meets someone that he didn't expect to meet again at Atlantis. Lorne Whump later on. **

**A/N:**** Reviews are always appreciated! I want to thank my Beta Alicia223, for the amazing job. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I wish I did. :D **

Chapter 1 - Mr. Piano Man

Major Evan Lorne pulled up to a big white house in a suburb outside of San Francisco. It had been over a year since he had seen his family. He had visited his mother and father the first day when he was back in San Francisco. He had also been catching up with some of his old mates. It was nice to see them again. Most of them had gotten married and were now starting families.

A part of Evan was a bit jealous but he loved his work. They had been giving him the third degree, asking him questions about his love life. He didn't have any love life. It was all work and no play. He and his mates had agreed to meet before he left San Francisco.

Evan was sitting in his car in the driveway to the big white house. So many emotions were running through him. For some reason he was getting a bit nervous. It had been a long time since he had seen them. He didn't know what to expect. When he had gone to Atlantis the first time, he had brought some pictures of them but he was sure that they had changed.

Before he headed out from his car, he grabbed the presents he had brought. As he stepped out of the car, a dog came running towards him barking. It looked like it was a Golden Retriever. After the dog, two young boys came running straight at him.

"UNCLE EVAN!" they yelled, jumping at him and giving him a hug. They had grown since the last time he had seen them.

"Hi there." Evan ruffled his nephews' hair and pulled out the presents. His nephews made big eyes when they saw what he pulled out.

"Is that for us?" one of the boys asked.

Evan nodded. It was two fire trucks. Evan gave them to the excited boys.

"Thank you, Uncle Evan," they both said and gave him a hug.

Evan watched both of his nephews run inside. The dog was still standing there looking at Evan. He patted the dog on its head and continued to the door. As he was walking he noticed a black SUV that he hadn't noticed when he had pulled up into the driveway. Shifting his gaze from the SUV and to the front door, he saw a woman standing in the doorway with crossed arms, smiling at him.

"Hi, have you seen my big brother?" the woman joked and gave him a hug. "It's nice to have you home, Evan."

"Nice to see you too, Ella." Evan returned the hug. He had missed his baby sister. Evan stepped inside finding his brother-in-law coming towards him. He extended his hand and Greg returned the handshake.

"Welcome home, Evan," Greg welcomed him and released Evan's hand.

"Thank you. Nice to you see, Greg."

Evan glanced over to the kitchen table. His sister had prepared a huge dinner just for him. When he had talked over the phone with his sister, she had told him that she was going to make his favorite food.

The house was different from the last time he had been there. They had redecorated the bottom floor. The old brown furniture was replaced with a white couch and white chairs. The old coffee table that had a huge, deep scratch on the middle of it was also replaced with a new one. One of the walls displayed family pictures. One picture with their parents, Ella and him and the second portrait was of Ella, her Greg and the boys.

The dog walked up to Evan and began to sniff. Evan kneeled down and scratched the dog behind the ear. One of his nephews walked up to Evan and kneeled next to his Uncle.

"His name is Rufus," his nephew explained.

He was wearing a blue shirt that said Air Force. Evan had to smile. Maybe the Air Force was expecting another recruit in the future. Before Evan could open his mouth to respond to his nephew, he spotted a brown haired woman he didn't know walking down the stairs. He stood up to introduce himself.

"I'm Evan Lorne," Evan introduced himself while extending his hand. He narrowed his eyes at the woman in front of him. He quickly understood that she was the owner of that black SVU.

The woman shook his hand and gave Evan a smile. "I'm Natalie Bennett. You must be the famous Uncle Evan."

Evan let out a laugh. "Famous Uncle Evan?"

"Yes, your nephews kept telling me about their Uncle Evan," she paused then continued. "Trevor told me that he wants to be just like his uncle when he grows up," she explained.

"Really?" Evan said and looked down at his nephew. "Trevor, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Trevor changed his attention from his dog to his uncle with a big smile, "I want to be a Major in the Air Force." Trevor spotted his brother running out to the backyard with one of his toys. "No! Jack! That toy is mine!"

"Hey! I see that you two have met!" Ella shouted from the kitchen, grinning and walking with the plates to the table.

Evan knew what this was all about. His little sister was trying to set him up with this woman. He had to laugh a bit. She had been nagging him, asking when she was going to become an aunt. She had even picked out some girls names that he had to promise to consider if he had a baby girl. His sister always wanted a little girl but instead she was blessed with two wonderful boys.

"The dinner is ready," Ella called out to everyone in the house.

They all found their seats by the table. Everything smelled wonderful. His sister had outdone herself. It was nice to get away from the food at Atlantis. The first thing he had ordered when he got back to San Francisco was Chinese food. He loved Chinese food.

"So, Evan, Ella tells me that you are a Major in the Air Force. How is it? I hope you don't mind me asking, but where are you stationed?" Natalie asked while putting potatoes on her plate.

"Yes, I am and I love it. I'm stationed at the Air Force base in Colorado Springs." Evan smiled. He wouldn't change his job for anything in this world. "What do you do for a living?"

"I work for the Department of Defense at the Pentagon."

"And how exactly do you know my sister?" Evan asked, trying not to come across as defensive.

"I live in Washington at the moment, but I was born in San Francisco and your sister and I were friends when we were younger."

"She's planning to move back to San Francisco," Ella quickly said and sent an innocent smile at her big brother. "Potatoes?" she offered, holding the bowl of potatoes to Evan. He shook his head.

"Maybe," Natalie corrected Ella.

Evan just kept eating his food. He didn't feel comfortable being set up by his sister. He didn't want to start something with someone when he knew that it wasn't going to work out. Keeping a long distance relationship going was hard enough but keeping one going between two galaxies was impossible.

"So, Natalie, what are you doing at the Department of Defense?" Evan asked, trying to steer away from Ella's conversation about Natalie moving back to San Francisco.

"I work as a Foreign Affairs Specialist," Natalie explained.

"Interesting," Evan said and paused. He opened his mouth to continue the conversation but his nephew beat him to it.

"Uncle Evan, can you please play the piano for us like you did before?" Jack asked, cutting off his uncle in the middle of the sentence and showing a big piece of steak in his mouth at the same time.

Evan smiled. "Of course."

When they were done with dinner and his sister had cleaned the table he had played his nephews' favorite song, which was the alphabet song. They all had been sitting in the piano room but now he was alone playing for himself.

"Do you take any requests, Piano Man?" someone asked behind him.

Evan stopped playing and turned around to see who it was. It was Natalie who was standing in the doorway. "What?"

"Oh you know, sing us a song you're the piano man, sing us a song tonight…"

"Well we're all in the mood for a melody, you got us feeling alright," Evan ended the lyric, smiling. "Billy Joel fan?"

Natalie nodded and walked closer to the piano, "I didn't mean to disturb you. It's just that I haven't heard an Air Force Major playing the piano like you."

"Thank you. We all have talents of some kind," Evan explained, smiling at the woman.

"I think you could teach the officers at the Pentagon a thing or two. They could learn to express themselves in another way other than talking about guns and grabbing their secretaries' asses all day long," Natalie cackled. "But I have to go and I wanted to say goodbye and that it was nice to meet, Major." She extended her hand for Evan to shake it.

Evan stood up and shook her hand. "It was nice meeting you, Natalie."

Five months had gone by quickly and Evan was sitting in his apartment with his mates, relaxing for the last time before he went back to Atlantis. He had been on two dates with Natalie before she went back to Washington. First, he only agreed to go on a date with her because of Ella's nagging but in the end, he actually found her interesting. He had promise her that when they met again, he was going to play the piano for her.

However, he was feeling guilty for leading her on. He knew from the beginning that it wasn't going to work out and he regretted that he let his sister talk him into going on a date with this woman. He didn't understand why he had gone on the second date. What was he thinking? What was he supposed to say when he called her? I'm going to another galaxy, so I don't think that it's going to work out between us? Evan had always been a very bad liar.

Although he had a great time back on Earth being surrounded with family and friends, he was more than ready to go back to Atlantis. Suddenly Evan heard a pling that made him snap out of his thoughts. It was his best friend Steve who had stood up holding a bottle of Heineken.

"To Evan! For fighting for this nation," Steve said and raised his beer bottle.

"To Evan!" they all said in unison and raised their beer bottles at the same time.

"Thank you, guys." Evan had the greatest friends.

When Steve had taken his place on the couch again, Evan's friend Toby who sat next to him on the couch, turned to face Evan. "What happened to that girl you went on a date with?"

Evan ran his hand down his face. Toby was the tenth person who had asked him. His sister had called him the day after he had been on the date, and she had been overjoyed when he had told her that he was going on a second date.

"She went back to Washington." Evan took a sip of his beer,

Toby placed a hand on Evan's shoulder. "You'll find someone. I bet there is a girl out there right now who is going to realize that she has to love a bad man once or twice in her life to be thankful for a good man like you."

_Evan couldn't do anything but laugh. Toby was always the one who was able to make people laugh and he was the group clown. Evan_smiled dryly. " did you get that wise, Toby?"

Toby shrugged. "I still have all four of my wisdom teeth."

Evan laughed and took another sip of his beer. Tomorrow he was going to be on his way back to Atlantis, his second home.


	2. The IOA arrives

Chapter 2

Colonel John Sheppard sat in his office looking down at the paper that he had gotten from the IOA. He rubbed his forehead and sighed. He knew that his military staff wouldn't like this. Sheppard looked at the list of new civilians and military personnel who were arriving at Atlantis shortly. A knock on Sheppard's door made him move his gaze towards Major Evan Lorne, his second in command, who was standing in the doorway.

"Sir, you wanted to see me?" Evan announced his arrival.

"Yes. I did."

Evan sat down in the chair in front of Sheppard's desk while he rested his elbows on the arms. Sheppard looked over at the piece of paper that was lying in front of him. "Well, I got a message from the IOA and they're sending a liaison officer from the Department of Defense along with a group of diplomats to Atlantis," he revealed to Evan

Evan raised an eyebrow. Did he hear right? The IOA is sending a liaison officer from the Department of Defense to Atlantis and a group of diplomats. "Isn't that great, more civilians to babysit. Did they say why they are sending a liaison officer to Atlantis?" he asked as he frowned, immediately suspicious. He didn't trust the IOA. Nothing with the IOA turned out to be any good news.

"Yes, the reason they are sending a liaison officer and the rest of the diplomats is because they want to ensure that the Department of Defense and the IOA can communicate as best as possible. They wanted to have someone at Atlantis and they wanted the liaison officer to look after the diplomats. The IOA wants to focus on getting more allies against the fight with the Wraith," Sheppard explained. "But it's only a test project."

Evan still couldn't grasp why the IOA wanted to send a liaison officer to Atlantis along with the group of diplomats. Didn't the IOA trust Colonel Sheppard and Doctor Weir? He knew that the IOA had the last word but he hated that.

"Did Stargate Command approve this?" Evan asked.

"It's the IOA. They take themselves very highly and they stand their ground," Sheppard said.

"What did Doctor Weir say?"

"Well, she wasn't pleased."

More civilians to keep from getting killed. Evan let out a sigh.

"Not what you expected?" his commanding officer asked.

"It's not like I dislike the civilians of this expedition but when the civilians tend to just wander off, I always think the worse and something happens," Evan explained.

Sheppard gave the Major an understanding smile. "Are you thinking about the time you fell in poison ivy when you were off-world with that botanist?"

Evan nodded. He hadn't been very happy with Doctor Parrish at that moment. Poison ivy on an alien planet wasn't the same as poison ivy on Earth. He had gotten the reputation of being strict while being off-world. Sheppard had assured him that civilians knew that he cared for them and that was the reason he was so strict off-world. There wasn't anything he disliked more than civilians wandering off and not following orders. His job was to protect the civilians and he didn't take his job lightly. He knew that one mistake could lead to serious injuries or worse, death.

"Well, here is the list of new people." Sheppard slid the paper over to Evan. Evan took the list and scanned the list quickly. As he was scanning the list, he spotted a name he had heard before. His heart started to pound slightly faster than normal. His glared was frozen on the name.

"Something wrong, Major?"

Evan put the list down. "No, nothing at, Sir," Evan said, instead of telling Sheppard that he had dated someone who was now working with the IOA. He didn't know how much Sheppard would appreciate his second in command having a connection like that.

The mess hall was always crowded at this time of the day with people who were chatting, reading, playing games and eating their dinner. Amongst the people in the mess hall, Major Lorne and his team sat listening to Doctor Parrish's fun facts about plants for kids.

Doctor Parrish might have made him run into poison ivy but he liked Parrish and his passion for his field.

"Major, did you know that the world's oldest living tree is thought to be in Sweden and that its root system has been growing for 9,500 years?" Doctor Parrish asked him enthusiastically.

Evan looked up at Doctor Parrish. "I didn't know that but it's nice to know." He shifted his attention to the list of the new recruits who were joining the Atlantis expedition.

"Sir, is something wrong?" Sergeant Reed asked. He must have noticed that Evan hadn't touched his food after Colonel Sheppard had given him the list of the new recruits.

Evan looked up at his team with a confused look. "Hmm..?"

Reed nodded towards the list. "I'm just wondering if something is wrong since you haven't touched your food and you keep looking at that list."

Evan looked up at Reed. "I'm just looking at the names at the new people that are arriving in Atlantis," he explained. When he looked over the list he recognized some of the names from Stargate Command and majority were military personnel. However there was one name that had put him off guard. He didn't know what to think when he saw her name on the list. How much did she know when she was at his sister's? He had mixed feelings about this. He didn't like the IOA like most of the people at Atlantis.

"Anyone we know from the SGC?" Reed asked curiously, trying to catch a glimpse of the names at the list.

Evan nodded. "Actually, there are a few," he said and scanned the list for names he knew. "Sergeant Moore and Lt. Anderson are two of them."

"Sweet!" Reed raised his hand at Coughlin for a high five. Coughlin didn't hesitate to return the high five.

Major Lorne's earpiece buzzed as he was going to respond to Reed. He tapped on the earpiece. "This is Major Lorne."

"_Major,"_came the base leader Doctor Weir's voice,_"the__Daedalus has arrived."_

"Alright, I'll be in the gate room." Evan excused himself and hurried off to the gate room.

Evan entered the gate room where Elizabeth Weir was standing welcoming the new people that had arrived at Atlantis afteralmost three weeks onboard the Daedalus. The gate room was packed with new people who were starting a new life on Atlantis, along with equipment and supplies of different things that Stargate Command had sent. Lorne always loved when new people arrived at Atlantis. All of those people were different with different stories and they all had their own ways to brighten up life at Atlantis. Majority of the new people that had arrived on Atlantis were military personnel with a handful of civilians.

Evan shifted his glance to the woman that he knew. She was talking to a group that he assumed was the diplomats. He saw that the group walked off and the woman went back to Doctor Weir. He still didn't like the idea of having a liaison officer he had been on dates with running around Atlantis but unfortunately he had to live with it. He had gotten the nice honor to show the liaison officer and the diplomats to their rooms and then escort them to the briefing room.

Evan hesitated for a second before he walked over to Doctor Weir. He didn't know what he was supposed to say to her. I'm sorry that I didn't call you, but if I knew that you were working with the IOA, I would never have gone on a date with you in the first place?

Doctor Weir noticed Evan's presence and turned to him as he approached the women.

"This is Major Evan Lorne. He's Colonel John Sheppard's second in command," Weir introduced Evan, gesturing at the Major.

Natalie smiled at Evan, not looking that surprised to see Evan at Atlantis. Evan noticed that she had turned a light shade of red. "I don't think an introduction is necessary," Ms. Bennett explained.

Doctor Weir looked from Evan and back at Natalie. "Do you know each other?"

"Yes, we do, ma'am," Evan answered.

Doctor Weir didn't seem sure of what to say at first but she finally opened her mouth and turned to Evan. "Can you please show Ms. Bennett to her living quarters. Doctor Zelenka has taken care of the rest of the diplomats. Ms. Bennett didn't want to keep them waiting while she was talking with me."

"Will do, ma'am." Evan gave Doctor Weir a slow nod. Doctor Weir excused herself and walked away. There was an awkward pause between the remaining pair. Evan didn't know if the awkward pause was because he never called her back or if it was because of her working relationship with the IOA.

"Did you know?" Evan asked, breaking the silence.

Ms. Bennett shook her head. "I didn't know when I met you the first time but when I got back to the Pentagon your name popped up and I found out where you really were stationed."

Evan didn't know how to respond to that, so he grabbed Natalie's bag. As he lifted one of Natalie's bags, he grimaced. "What do you have in this bag?"

"Clothes and to be honest I don't know what the rest is. I just panicked and grabbed everything I came I across in my apartment. I thought that maybe I'd need that and then I saw something else and I thought maybe I should bring that just in case."

"You women always have a tendency to bring unnecessary stuff with you," Evan concluded.

"Hey, a woman is always prepared."

"What if the Wraith attack?" he asked hypothetically. "I don't think high heels or lipstick will chase them away."

"I brought my running shoes," she replied with a smug smile on her face.

Evan shook his head and headed out of the gate room with the liaison officer. The awkward silence came back. They kept walking without saying anything to each other.

"I am not stalking you, Major. I did not ask to be transferred here," Natalie broke the awkward silence.

"What?" Evan frowned.

"Some people might find it very strange to meet someone they have been on dates with and didn't call back in another galaxy."

"Yeah about that-" Evan managed to say before she held her hand up.

"You know what, don't bother. What's done is done," she said firmly.

They went back to the awkward silence until they reached Natalie's living quarters. Evan stepped into the living quarters and put Natalie's bag down.

Natalie gave him a soft smile. "Thank you, Major."

"You're welcome," Evan replied and headed out of the room. At least she didn't hate him, Evan thought as he walked through the corridors of the Ancient city.

XX

Natalie was sitting in the quarters that she had been assigned with a large pile of documents about the Genii and the Wraith. Since the Ancient city was the only gate to Earth, the Department of Defense wanted to be prepared to face any threats against the US and Earth. They also wanted accurate information about what was going on at Atlantis at any time. Since she had the 'mutant gene', as she called it, and she was already working closely with the IOA, she had been picked to be sent to Atlantis.

This was something different than other assignment she had gotten in the past. She knew about the Stargate program because she was working closely with the IOA but she hadn't pictured Atlantis to be like this. The only Atlantis she had known about before being introduced to the Stargate program, was the movie that was her niece's favorite.

She didn't have the chance to grab some food because she couldn't stop reading the documents. She was afraid that she might take a wrong turn and end up somewhere she shouldn't and no one would notice that she was gone. She had felt the tension when she had met with Doctor McKay and Colonel Sheppard. She didn't have to be Einstein to know that both of the men didn't want her and the rest of the diplomats there.

Not only could Natalie feel the tension between Colonel Sheppard and Doctor McKay but she could feel the awkwardness between her and Major Lorne. When she had gone back to Washington, she had spoken to Ella and Ella had assured her that he was going to call back. She is not going to lie and say that it didn't bother her because it did, but he didn't need to know that. She had been disappointed and she had gone over the dates several times wondering what she had done wrong.

She let out a sigh, grabbed the documents and walked over to her desk and placed them on it.

She made her way to her bed and placed her head on the pillow. "This is going to be interesting," she said to herself before she closed her eyes.


	3. Socks and shoes are overrate

**Here is chapter 3! And as always, reviews are always appreciated. **

**Chapter 3 - socks and shoes are overrated **

_She was running through the woods. The sweat was pouring down her face. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She looked back for a second but it only took that second for her foot to tangle itself between two branches, causing her to hit the ground. Before she could scramble up on her feet again, the Wraith that was chasing her caught up with her. _

_I'm going to get fed on! I don't want to die, she thought desperately. But instead the wraith grabbed her by her feet and dragged her deeper into the woods. She looked behind her as the Wraith dragged her and she spotted Colonel Sheppard looking at her being taken away._

"_Colonel! Please! Help me! COLONEL!" She cried out as loud as she could and dug her nails into the ground but the Colonel just stood there watching her and the Wraith disappearing into the woods._

Natalie shot up, her eyes open and her heart pounding. Her quarters were filled with darkness. She jumped up from her bed and switched the lights on. When she had switched the lights on, she grabbed her glasses. After she had grabbed her glasses, she stepped out from her room and out into the corridor.

_Alright, Natalie, let's find the Mess Hall and try not to get lost again_, she thought as she walked off.

As she was about to turn around the corner, Major Lorne and another soldier appeared, almost causing them to knock heads together. Major Lorne managed to grab her before she gave the floor a hug.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed," the Major asked, looking down for a second and noticed that she was walking barefoot. He frowned and looked up at her. "Isn't it cold walking barefoot?" Major Lorne pointed out, changing the subject.

Natalie shifted her gaze down on her feet. She looked up again at the Major who was waiting for an answer. She spotted the young soldier behind Evan - she recognized him as Coughlin - was smirking. She felt the heat spreading through her face. "Socks and shoes are overrated," she said casually, standing in the corridor barefoot.

"Maybe you should get something on your feet before you get a cold and maybe some more clothes," Major Lorne suggested, resting his arms on his P90 that hung on his vest.

"And how exactly is that your problem?" She placed her hands on both of her hips and wiggled her toes.

"Coughlin, you can go ahead," Major Lorne told the Sergeant. As Coughlin walked passed Natalie he shot a grin at her. Natalie rolled her eyes.

"What is your the problem"? Major Lorne rubbed his forehead. "Is it because I didn't call you?"

"I told you that I don't care," she lied. Of course she cared! What woman didn't care? "Maybe I like walking around barefoot," she said, her voice trailing off.

"Well, if you aren't going to put on socks or shoes, then at least put on some long pants. A pair of women's legs at Atlantis attract soldiers like a bug zapper attracts bugs," Major Lorne explained.

Natalie tried to suppress a laugh. For some stupid reason she thought this was funny.

"I have to continue on. Goodnight." Major Lorne gave the liaison officer a small nod.

"Goodnight, Major Lorne," She watched him walk off in the same direction as the Sergeant.

Finally she made her way to the Mess Hall and grabbed a cup with warm milk. Instead of heading back to her quarters right away, she decided to take her time. She had never been to the Mess Hall when it had been completely empty. However, she knew what it felt like to sit alone in the Mess Hall. People had been avoiding her since the news spread that the IOA had sent someone to Atlantis. She knew that the IOA didn't have a good reputation at Atlantis.

"Excuse me," someone behind her said, causing Natalie to jump and spill some of her warm milk.

Natalie turned to see who it was. "Teyla!"

"I apologize if I gave you a scare," Teyla said. "Do you mind if I have a seat?"

"No no! Have a seat." Natalie smiled. Teyla must be the nicest person she had met at Atlantis. Teyla had talked to her while other people had steered clear of her. The other diplomats had reported the same. She had been trying to take it up with Colonel Sheppard but every time she had tried, he was busy.

"Can't sleep?" Natalie asked the Athosian woman and quickly took a sip from the warm milk that hadn't been spilled out.

"No, I have had some troubles sleeping lately. And you?"

"The same nightmare I had since I arrived here three weeks ago."

"Yes, many people seems to get nightmares when first arriving at Atlantis," Teyla explained.

Natalie grabbed her cup with both of her hands. "I hope you don't mind me asking this. Why doesn't Colonel Sheppard like me and other diplomats? I know that the IOA aren't that popular around here but we are still good people."

"Colonel Sheppard is just careful but don't worry. I am sure that the Colonel has to get used to having you around." Teyla smiled.

"But-"

That was the only thing Natalie managed to say before the alarm started to sound through the Ancient City. The women stood up, looked at each other for a second, and then ran out of the Mess Hall. It was not only the two women who had reacted to the alarm. People were standing outside their living quarters, scratching their heads and wondering what was going on. Natalie stopped when she spotted a petit bald man.

"Ms. Bennett, what is happening?" the man asked. "Are we under attack?"

"I don't know, Paul. But try to stay calm and do what you are told," she said before she wandered off to look for the other diplomats.

_What the hell is happening_, she thought while walking quickly through the corridors. She spotted several soldiers running around the corridors, fully geared up. She could feel the panic starting to set in. Turning around the corner, the alarmed stopped and it became quiet. She stopped, feeling that her heart had started to pound faster. _Was it over_, she thought as she stood in the corridor barefoot

"_Attention personnel,"_ Doctor Weir's voice materialized from the speakers, "_this was a false alarm. I apologize, and you all can go back to bed._"

Natalie sighed with relief. It was over. It was just a false alarm she thought and headed back to her living quarters.

**XXX**

Evan was standing in the gate room walking back and forth while the young men were watching him. They were clearly nervous about how the Major was going to react.

Colonel Sheppard had asked him to find out what had happened. He had pulled the soldiers from the area that the alarm had started in to the gate room to find out what had happened. He wasn't amused and that was the understatement of the year. He stopped, facing the soldiers with both of his hands folded behind his back. "Who wants to tell me what the hell happened?"

The soldiers didn't speak. Evan was a man with a lot of patience but he was starting to lose it. He was exhausted after trying to calm down the frantic scientists and all he wanted was to go to bed. He looked over at Reed and Coughlin but when his stare fell on them, they looked down, avoiding the stare of their superior officer. "Okay boys, let me rephrase myself," he said and paused. "I demand an explanation of what happened," he finished calmly.

He knew that screaming wouldn't help and he knew that it had the opposite effect which led to no one coming clean. Still, no one wanted to tell him what had happened. He didn't like being the bad Major but this wasn't a place that people should just do whatever they pleased. They had protocols to follow.

Evan let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead. "Look boys, I just want to know what happened."

A young soldier took one step forward. Evan looked at the young soldier and stepped closer. The man seemed nervous and scared, not knowing what was going to happen to him. "Captain White, do you know what happened?"

Captain White swallowed hard. "I didn't mean to switch on the alarm, sir. I thought I saw something and I was told by Major Edison to report anything suspicious and I panicked."

Evan ran his hand down his face. "I think that Major Edison meant to report to him, me, Colonel Sheppard or any other superior officer, and not turn on the alarm." He paused, looking at the soldier. "I know you're a newbie and this is your first nightshift, but don't do it again and remember that Colonel Sheppard expects all of you to be at your best anywhere and anytime," Evan warned.

"Yes, Sir." Captain White gave his superior officer a small nod and stepped back into the line.

"Okay, people who are done with their nightshift report to the next shift and head to bed. You all are dismissed." Evan stood still, watching the soldiers head out from the gate room. The best and the brightest.

"Yeah right," Evan mumbled to himself before he left the gate room and headed to his living quarters.

**XX**

Evan sat in his office looking through the latest mission reports. A knock on the door caused him to shift his gaze to the doorway where Colonel Sheppard was now standing.

"Sir, what can I do for you?" Evan put the mission reports to the side.

Sheppard sat down in the chair in front of his second in command. "Do you know what happened yesterday"?

"Yes, Captain White saw something and panicked and decided to start the alarm, and that caused the other soldiers and marines to react."

"Did they check if there were, you know, any intruders?" the Colonel asked, having the episode with Colonel Caldwell fresh in mind.

Evan nodded. "A group of marines searched the premises and we didn't find any suspicious objects or individuals."

"And this Captain White is new and if I am correct, this was his first nightshift." Sheppard looked at Evan nodding. Sheppard thought for a moment. "Well, we've all made mistakes," he said and added, "Rodney wasn't happy. He said, and I quote, 'I am tired of getting dragged up at night to fix everything around here'."

Evan laughed dryly. "That's McKay." Evan remembered when he had to work with him on P3M-736 finding Aiden Ford, Colonel Sheppard's former second in command. Not his best experience with the scientist and to this day he didn't know how Colonel Sheppard put up with him.

"So... if you're done with reading through the mission reports, do you want to grab something to eat?"

"Sure," Evan said. He stood up and grabbed his jacket and headed out of his office after Colonel Sheppard.

They arrived at the Mess Hall, grabbed a tray with food and scouted for an available table. When they had spotted a table, both of the men went over to the table and sat down. Evan took a better look of the Mess Hall. His gaze froze on the woman who was sitting at the table behind them. It was Natalie. He came to remember that he had talked to her last night. He let out a sigh.

Sheppard raised his eyebrows and turned around to see who or what Evan was looking at. "Are you staring at the IOA lady?"

Evan snapped out of his daze and pulled his gaze back to Sheppard. "I was just checking out who was in the Mess Hall, Sir," he said, but he didn't know if Sheppard bought it.

"Just be careful around her. You never know what the IOA is up to." Sheppard took a bite of his apple.

"What do you mean, Sir?"

"You know, I'm sure that she'll run off to the IOA if she hears something," he said. "I'm also sure that they wouldn't hesitate to throw Elizabeth under the bus if they had the chance. I advise you to stay away," he told Evan. "There is nothing good about the IOA."

Evan looked up again and caught a glimpse of the IOA woman leaving the Mess Hall. "Yes, Sir."

**XXX**

Natalie sat in the office that she had been assigned. She gazed out the window. The only thing she could see was water and more water. She let out a sigh as she turned her attention back to her laptop.

"Hello!"

Natalie jolted back in her chair and gasped for air. She took a final deep breath before she looked up and took off her glasses. It was her friend Gina.

"I am so sorry that I scared you," Gina said with a heavy Texas accent.

"That's okay. How is the training going?"

"It's so hard," she said. "You know, Paul was learning to use the P90 and when he fired he flew backwards into the ground."

Natalie laughed. "Aww, poor guy."

Gina made herself comfortable in the visitor's chair. "So when are we coming with you to the Alpha site?"

She had received the Colonel's word that if she and the diplomats got through the training they could be assigned to off-world teams. Unfortunately, she had been caught up with something that had prevented her to go to the Alpha site. "I am joining you tomorrow."

"If we're lucky, we won't get Major Edison again."

Natalie raised an eyebrow at her friend. "What's wrong with Major Edison?"

"Well, let's put it like this; he thinks the sun comes up just to hear him crow."

Natalie frowned. "What?"

"It's a saying we have in Texas that means that he thinks highly of himself," Gina explained.

Natalie started to laugh at what Gina had said. If there was anyone who could make her laugh when she was in a bad mood, it was Gina.

"What did I say?" Gina asked, confused.

"I'm sorry," she managed to say between the laughs. "You are so sweet with your sayings."

"You are one strange woman," Gina said and shook her head.

**XX**

The next day, Natalie was standing in the gate room with the rest of the new civilians to the expedition, waiting for the wormhole to be established. She looked around; there was a group of soldiers and a group of marines. While waiting to head out, she pulled out a tissue from her pockets and blew her nose. _Walking barefoot wasn't a good idea after all_, she thought. The gate finished dialing, the wormhole was established and she started to walk after the other people.

Natalie closed her eyes as she took her first step through the Atlantis Stargate. When she was on the other side, she opened her eyes. The sunlight hit her straight in the face causing her to squint. When she managed to fully open her eyes again, she looked around. The surroundings reminded her of the park she had gone to when she had been working as an intern at the American Embassy in France. She was amazed how an alien planet could look so much like Earth.

"Okay, listen up!" She could only just hear Major Lorne shout out to the excited scientists and civilians. She stepped closer so she could hear him better.

"I want you to form three groups. Each of the groups will get a soldier who will take you through training," Major Lorne explained. He clapped his hands together. "Let's move people."

Natalie was put in a group with six other people. Three of them were botanists and the other two were astrophysicists. It was her turn to try the P90. She held the P90 and sent a worried look to the Sergeant who was standing off to the side. She changed her focus on the target. Her heart started to beat faster and she could feel that her palms were getting sweaty.

"Ma'am, you can start shooting," the Sergeant told her but Natalie didn't move an inch. She lowered her gun.

"What's wrong, Ma'am?"

"I've never held a gun before," Natalie confessed. "What if I shoot someone?"

"I am sure that you won't shoot anyone," a familiar voice said.

Major Lorne stepped closer to her. He went behind her and held her arms in the right aiming position. She could feel his breath on her neck. Her heart started to pound even faster than before. "Now, shoot." Major Lorne quickly stepped back before she started to shoot.

_Damn_, she thought as she saw that she had missed the target. She lowered her P90, took a deep breath and handed it to the Sergeant.

"Thank-" she managed to say to Major Lorne before she started to cough.

"Cold?"

Natalie nodded. She was not in the mood hear him say `I told you so'.

"I told you to put on some shoes or socks and some more clothes," Major Lorne said with a smug look on his face.

"Ah, Major, I am not in the mood."

"Well, just get yourself checked out after we are done here. I'll see you later," he said.

She gave Major Lorne a salute. "Yes, Sir."

He frowned and said, "That wasn't necessary."

"I know." She gave Major Lorne a quick smirk and headed back to the group.


End file.
